Singapore day 1

During the wee hours of the morning, while it was still pitch dark outside, we were awakened by a massive explosion here in Singapore that reverberated off all the tall buildings in this vicinity. It was followed by a great flash of light and more deafening explosions. After all the years I've lived in the parched Negev Desert, down-range from Gaza, I'd forgotten what a thunderstorm sounds like. Being awakened like that, it took a few minutes to realize that Singapore was not under attack after all. The sound of pounding raindrops reassured me. I listened until sleep returned.

We had what passed for breakfast this morning at our hostel along with several other residents of this place. It consisted of sliced bread (a pop-up toaster was available to toast these) some margarine and jam and some hard-boiled eggs; also coffee and tea in a couple of air-pots. My tooth hurt so badly I hardly had an appetite.

We then walked across the street to Singapore's synagogue. We met the office staff, paid for Shabbat meals Friday evening and Saturday lunch and learned about the kosher restaurant on the premises.

By this morning I had collected the names of three dentists. The third name came this morning in a serendipitously well-timed phone call from a contact here in Singapore named Robin Robbins, whose name was given to me while I was at the JCC in Mumbai by the husband of Leora Joseph (who is the first cousin of Rabbi Jonathan Cohen in Netivot). [HaGadyah]. When traveling, it pays to keep such chains of contact alive. I was told that this third dentist might be a little pricier than the others but he had a very modern clinic and was a very good dentist. I called that clinic and was taken within an hour. It was close enough for Razelle and me to walk over there! A woman dentist in this office was free to see me. She was spectacular! Every step of the way she informed me of what needed to be done and why, what options I had and didn't have. She drew me a diagram and showed me microcam photos of the affected tooth while she proceeded. In short, I had root canal in Singapore. I am so relieved now not to be suffering the way I had suffered the past few days. In Beer Sheva I visited my own dentist twice in the weeks before we flew, but the symptoms weren't bad enough to intervene then. They worsened dramatically only after our trip began. Now that my tooth is OK again, we can enjoy this trip.

Razelle and I then left the dentist office (in a huge gothic office block) to cruise the mall and train station across the street. The pulse of Singapore throbs in such a place. We were caught up in it. Razelle found earrings made just for her (clip-ons – a rare find, mostly). The sales clerk talked a mile a minute, and threw in a few extras to go with the sale. We found a grocery store selling much needed items, a donut and coffee shop (just what we were looking for) and lots and lots and lots and lots of eateries that we didn't eat at but everyone else was going to town patronizing like ants at a picnic.

Razelle and I munched and sipped and watched detachedly and came to the realization that everyone we saw here was middle class or better off than that. In fact, wherever we went today we saw nothing but shiny happy people, living a comfortable life.

This evening Razelle and I had a kosher meal for the first time since our trip began. Razelle donned her new earrings and we proudly walked to the synagogue across the street to eat in their attached kosher restaurant. We had chicken broth with matzo balls for starters. Razelle ordered sizzling stir-fried beef and I had a local specialty noodle-and-beef dish. The drinks were ice cold Jaffa lime juice. We both truly enjoyed our meals, Razelle because it was meat, and I, I enjoyed it simply because it didn't hurt to eat anymore.